Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2013
59. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the current guidance counselling provision in post-primary schools given that a recent research survey and audit established that vulnerable and disadvantaged students are the most hurt by cuts in this service. [42531/13]
View answerI have already acknowledged to the House that bringing guidance within quota is challenging for schools. The alternative, however, was to adjust the pupil-teacher ratio staffing allocations. Guidance is a whole-school activity, and schools have autonomy on how best to prioritise their available resources to meet the requirements in relation to guidance and the provision of an appropriate range of subjects to students. This operates at local school level. The representative organisations for school principals and school management developed a framework that assists schools on how best to manage the provision of guidance from within their staffing allocations. This approach puts a greater emphasis on group work and class-based activity at senior cycle and maximises the amount of time available for those pupils who need one-to-one support. The budget decision sheltered the impact for all DEIS post-primary schools by improving their standard staffing allocations, a fact which is often overlooked in this debate.
In September 2012 and again in September 2013, the Institute of Guidance Counsellors initiated research and conducted a national audit into current practice in guidance and counselling. The institute feared that, while all students would be affected by the changes, disadvantaged and vulnerable students would suffer the most. The audit revealed a worrying trend in our schools whereby many young people cannot access guidance counsellors when they most need their assistance. There has been an alarming reduction of 51.4% in the time made available for one-to-one counselling. The Minister referred to group counselling, but in the context of the current economic situation and the various social problems that arise, it is imperative that one-to-one counselling is emphasised. The audit also highlighted an overall reduction of 21.4% in the service, with significant variations among types of schools, and an increase in the teaching of academic subjects on the part of guidance counsellors. We clearly have a disjointed service.
The Deputy might put a question to the Minister and conclude on it.
Will the Minister address the concerns that have been expressed about guidance counselling? Many parents cannot afford private counselling services. The Minister will have to acknowledge the significant implications for our vulnerable students.
Guidance counsellors play an important role in schools. All that was done was to give leadership at secondary level the discretion to deploy the full array of time that the guidance teacher had in the school. It was a choice between doing that or increasing the pupil-teacher ratio. That was not a great choice to begin with, but I believe I took the better option. We are discussing guidance counsellors, but I think we are more concerned about the pastoral care and advice they give to young people. In the context of yesterday's funeral in Limerick after another tragedy, we must be acutely aware of the problems that arise in our schools. Last January, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and I published guidelines on mental health promotion and suicide prevention.
The guidelines were informed by consultation with key education and health partners and by the findings of current research. They provide practical guidance to post-primary schools on how they can promote mental health and well being in an integrated fashion. This is the point - it is not just one teacher's responsibility. Rather, it is a pastoral care issue for the entire school community. The guidelines go into some length and provide a great deal of comfort for that community in dealing with this problem, which has sadly become very real.
While all students are negatively impacted by these cutbacks, there are more vulnerable students. The Minister mentioned the Limerick incident. I would also point to children with special needs, non-English-speaking non-nationals, the Travelling community, etc. Cyberbullying is another issue. Some students are in the criminal justice system. Socio-economically disadvantaged students are disproportionately impacted because substitute services are not available.
The survey highlighted another matter. In addition to losing classroom subject teachers, many schools have also lost specialist teachers, for example, resource teachers and home-school liaison teachers. Some 40% of schools have lost learning support resource teaching hours and 37% have lost English language support hours.
The Deputy might put a question to the Minister, please.
Will the Minister review this situation, given the social implications and the well being of our young generation, particularly in these testing times?
This tragedy that confronts us all is not just a guidance counsellors issue, although they are central to its resolution in many respects. It is a community issue, including within the school itself. As the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, stated when we launched the document, if a person is in trouble or feels the need to access help, he or she should feel free in the first instance to approach a member of staff and the school staff community should empower itself so that, if a young person approaches whoever it happens to be seeking help, then that person should be able to refer him or her to the guidance counsellor in the first instance. If the counsellor is of the view that the issue is beyond his or her professional competence, the young person should be referred to the relevant health authorities in the HSE. This framework did not exist previously. It is the product of a good working group. School communities should be reinforced by the collective "we are all in this together" view, not take the view that bullying and pastoral care are uniquely the responsibility of one or two guidance counsellors.
